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Researchers found that when we cough and sneeze, it’s not just droplets. Droplets are trapped in a moist sneeze cloud which makes them travel faster, and in the experiment they were found to be able to travel eight metres from the sneezer.

‘Sneezing Sally’ was a doll who could project out sneezes on command.

After placing plates in one row intervals on the coach coach, and using a unharmful solution to represent the illness, Helen and Andrew let Sally sneeze from the back of the bus to see how far her germs could travel.

The plates were then taken into a lab for further investigation.

The results showed the plates nearest to Sally being covered with the virus - but that wasn’t all.

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Sally’s germs were also found half way up the coach, 5.5 metres away.

A similar experiment was carried out in America, which Helen described as a “ground breaking discovery.”

Helen said: “Researchers found that when we cough and sneeze, it’s not just droplets. Droplets are trapped in a moist sneeze cloud which makes them travel faster, and in the experiment they were found to be able to travel eight metres from the sneezer.”

The germs from sneezers can also settle on hard surfaces, and as long as they are in warm and humid conditions, they can last for several days.